| Volume 51 Number 5 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
As a general rule an employer may not require an employee to take a lie detector test. The employee may be required to submit to a test, however, if the employer is investigating a theft and has a reasonable suspicion that the employee may have been involved. Click here for more.
Walgreens & CVS at War Over Insurance
Do you have Caremark prescription drug coverage? Caremark is a CVS owned prescription benefit plan used by consumers nationwide, including many state employees. After a dispute erupted over reimbursement payments, Walgreens has decided to stop accepting Caremark prescription policies. Walgreens dominates the pharmacy market, owning 50% of 24-hour pharmacies. The termination will take place within 30 days. After that time, Caremark cardholders will no longer be able to use their coverage at Walgreens pharmacies. Click here for more.
Facebook: No Friends in Legislature
For the past few months, Facebook has been the subject of an intense privacy debate. The company faced intense public backlash for changing it's privacy policy and default user settings on little or no notice. Congress and the FTC are now investigating Facebook's privacy practices. Legislators want the company to clarify its privacy practices, and how the company collects, stores, and uses consumer data. While most companies use lobbyists to help educate political figures, Facebook has no such presence on Capital Hill. How will Facebook handle mounting privacy probes? Click here for more.
BP on the Brink of Chapter 11
According to oil and gas insider, Matt Simmons, BP has about one month before filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Simmons estimates the company will run out of cash from lawsuits, cleanup and other expenses. Will BP go bankrupt? Who should be charged with cleaning up the Gulf? Where will the money come from? Click here for more.
Your Money
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For the Lawyers
Supreme Court adopts "forward-looking" bankruptcy test. The United States Supreme Court held that a Chapter 13 debtor’s “disposable income” was not necessarily confined to what she earned during the six months preceding the filing of her bankruptcy petition. “[W]e hold that when a bankruptcy court calculates a debtor’s projected disposable income, the court may account for changes in the debtor’s income or expenses that are known or virtually certain at the time of confirmation,” the Court said. Click here for more.